'You don't know me, never look at me, or have any romantic feelings towards me. I'm your classmate, and I think that I love you, Alec Thorn.' _Liana River, scholarship charity case, aspiring Cindrella_.
Attached are my photo, my GPA, and even a screenshot of my part-time job profile.
How
I felt dizzy, and everything became blurred. How did my anonymous confession get posted with my name and contact details?
I had to hold the staircase rail to stabilise myself. And then my eyes caught Alec Thorn's response, and I wished the ground would just open and swallow me up.
'Some people really just don't know their place."_ Alec Thorn_.
The staircases loomed ahead, and each step was like a ticking time bomb. And by the time I stepped into the corridor, my aching chest had splintered. I wasn't invisible anymore. This wasn't just a rejection. I had become a joke.
"She wasn't even intelligent or had good grades. How come she qualifies for a scholarship program?"
"I heard the scholarship was sponsored by a religious group, and it's based on your financial situation rather than your level of intelligence."
"Did you see her profile picture? That helmet? She looks like a delivery girl."
"She is a delivery girl."
All the students' eyes were on me, and their whispers slithered through the air like smoke.
I kept my eyes down, and my fingers clenched around the strap of my bag. My cheeks were burning, and my eyes were welling with tears that refused to drop down.
Not here.
Not in front of them.
I froze when I turned the corner, and my heart literally flew out of my chest for a second as I gawked at the crowd gathering in front of my class. They all have their phones out, all pointing the camera at me, and all laughing like jackals as they read out my anonymous message.
This is the height of embarrassment, I thought, but I was wrong. Someone had projected my blog's post on the smartboard in front of the class, and my messages were glowing across the screen, followed by Alec's response.
"Speak of the devil, " Lyra Vane suddenly emerged out of the jeering crowd into my path. She stared down at me with an amusing kind of hatred as she announced. "You must be delusional to think posting that on the school's blog would make my boyfriend date you out of pity."
Just before I responded to plead not guilty, the voice I dreaded most boomed from the other side of the classroom, and my blood ran cold immediately.
"Well... I think we should all welcome the famous Miss Cindrella into our midst with a round of applause."
Mr. Halvorsen was my literature teacher who disliked me for no reason, and he had a smile full of teeth as he leaned against the front desk. "I suppose we should be grateful that you are expressing yourself in writing, Miss River. This is the first time you will be submitting anything coherent."
The class roared with laughter as my legs moved on autopilot to my seat in the back of the class. I sat down, trying to disappear into the cracked on my wooden chair.
"Tell me," Mr. Halvorsen continued in his usual humorous tone, "Did you submit a love letter, or just a cry for help?"
I couldn't answer. Couldn't meet his gaze.
"Now, back to Shakespeare, a man who knows how to write about love without embarrassing himself."
The rest of the period passed in a blur without me hearing a word. I couldn't see anything except the humiliation and rage. I knew after the first period that I just needed to leave this school. At least, until all this scandal cools off. I had to find a way to convince my mom to agree to my plight.
Despite how much I needed my lunch, I couldn't leave my chair at the back of the class to go to the cafeteria. Not when everyone will be there waiting for me. I have had enough ridicule for a day.
But I was wrong again.
Those vultures of students still came in search of me, and I could see them poking their heads through our class windows and then pointing at me.
For the first time since I arrived here, I glared back at them and screamed, "You all should go and fuck yourself, " and then bolted out of the back door. And I could hear their cackling until I arrived in the hallway.
"Hey, delivery girl. Are you free tonight?"
Ben Damon was my classmate and the least of my favourites. He was a gobby, if you ever need one. And the hair on the back of my neck stands up when he steps into my path.
"I have got a package I need to get to downtown."
"fuck off."
"Bitch like you think- ."
My hand moved before my brain did. A second later, my palm met his cheek with a satisfying snap. And I could hear echoes of gasps around us.
Ben Damon's eyes were round with shock as he reeled backwards. He quickly regained his stance and was about to pounce on me when a voice asked from far.
"What's going on there, Ben?"
"Nothing, Ma'am. We were just chatting about our next agricultural test," Ben lied easily, turned towards me, and muttered, "You will regret this."
As I leg it down the hall, I realized something far more than being mocked. I am alone.
Ben was right. I already regret every action I have taken for the past twenty-four hours.
Rather than cooling off, my raging heartbeats increased in speed as I raced into the school's old and abandoned restrooms. The stale smell and uneasy silence are exactly what I sought right now. Besides, it's the only place I can feel safe from the madness outside. I stared at my reflection inside the bathroom mirror; white face, red rimmed eyes, trembling lips, clenched fists, and white knuckles.
I splashed water on my face, trying to wash away the shame that clings to my skin like oil, and then paused when the door creaked open at my back.
"Didn't think you would be so brave to show your face in school today," a voice boomed from the doorway.
I stiffened when I heard Derek Mackrell's voice. Tall, broad shoulders, and always has a smirk on his face. Derek was Alec's closest friend and always treated me like a piece of rag.
"I am not in the mood for a chit-chat," I said in a low voice.
He laughed dryly. "I am here to help you. You embarrassed Alec. That takes guts or stupidity."
"I didn't mean for it to go public."
"It doesn't matter. You make him look weak and cheap. That's something he won't let slide."
"Huh."
"Have you noticed he didn't come to school today?"
I nodded in response. "Well, I'm sorry. Is that enough?"
"You know it isn't. "
"What do you want?"
"You will soon find out."
My heart hammered, and my pulse quickened as I stepped back towards the wall.
He moved fast. So fast that he was over me before I could move. He had one arm resting on the wall beside me, another one wrapped around my neck, pressing it to the wall.